John Chayka just told Maple Leafs fans the phone is on, and he likes the blue line he already has. Both things can't stay true for long.
Speaking Friday on Real Kyper & Bourne, Chayka said Toronto will "be in that" if someone available looks like an upgrade.
Then came the pivot. "I like our defense," he said, before calling the group "a lot of good veteran defensemen that know how to play."
Veteran is doing heavy lifting in that sentence. Chris Tanev is 36, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson is 35.
The Leafs split their opening back-to-back at home, dropping a 3-2 decision to Montreal before edging the Islanders 2-1 the next night.
That leaves Toronto at 1-1-0 with a goal differential of zero. Nothing alarming. Nothing convincing either.
Morgan Rielly has done his part from the back end, picking up two assists, one of them on the power play.
Darren Raddysh's minus-3 start puts heat on Toronto's defense
The bigger problem sits further down the depth chart. Darren Raddysh carries an $8.5 million cap hit and has no points through two games.
He's also minus-3. That's the worst rating on the roster, attached to the most expensive defenseman on it.
Meanwhile, Troy Stecher is a plus-2 on a $1.35 million deal. It's like paying for the corner office and watching the intern close every account.
Anthony Stolarz has been the cushion, with a .963 save percentage. Sergei Bobrovsky sits at .875, which tells you how thin the margin gets when the crease isn't perfect.
And the defense isn't the only quiet corner. Auston Matthews has no points and went minus-2 over the first two nights.
So where does the upgrade actually go?
Here's my read. Praising this blue line in public while shopping for help is a hedge, and it's the wrong one for a group this old. Chayka should be pushing harder, not softer.
Jim Hiller's group hosts the Senators tonight, against an Ottawa team that hasn't played a game yet.
After one more home date with Nashville on Tuesday, the Leafs head out on a three-game road trip through Vegas, Colorado, and Utah.
The GM promised his defensemen would "show a certain side of this as things progress." Nathan MacKinnon and Jack Eichel are about to find out which side that is.
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Should John Chayka trade for a defenseman before the Leafs' western road trip?
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